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Jessica opened the door to the Coins for Prizes once again and walked straight to the back where several species of rare Pokémon were playing in pens. She peeked over the side of one sequester and smiled to see a family of Rotom happily buzzing together in a game of Static Tag/Capture the Flag, shocking each other slightly to a tickle and subsequent giggles. (A few of them were even forming literal electricity chains to get out of "jail".) Leaning over the edge despite the "WARNING: HIGH VOLTAGE - DO NOT PUT HANDS INSIDE ENCLOSURE" sign, Jess extended a finger towards the creatures, one of whom broke away from the collective and examined the offering curiously. With a shy squeak, it zapped her lightly - but only enough to make her skin tingle and hair stand on end - before running away laughing, as if expecting her to give chase. The girl grinned as she patted down her frizz, then pulled out a piece of paper and scanned down the list, accounting for the numbers. "One... Two... Three... Four... Five.. And six. Perfect." Pocketing the sheet, she suddenly produced a Spoink Piggy Bank in its place and moved to the counter, dumping almost all its contents on the surface and surprising the cashier.

"Ah, excuse me, sorry. It's just that I'd like to buy that group of Rotom over there, please. They're gifts for my friends. One of them is extremely sick and in the hospital, so I thought this might help cheer her up when she gets better."

The seller's face first hardened upon recognizing this repeat phony philanthropist, then softened a bit at her story. However, it gradually grew wrinkles again in irritation as the girl carefully and painstakingly calculated out the proper amount of Coins (clearly the clerk hadn't forgotten how long it took this nutjob to pay each time before, now they were in for an even longer wait). Jess blushed and tried to hurry it up, which only led her to make further errors, forcing her to start again. Finally, after double-checking twice, she plopped five Poké Balls down on top of the pile. The employee once again raised an eyebrow, and Jessica pleaded for one more moment as she fished around desperately in her satchel. At last, her fingers closed on something soft, but certainly spherical. Triumphantly withdrawing the Gingerbread Ball, she pointed to the Rotom who had contacted her earlier, now watching her from the closest corner of the cage with wide eyes.

"I'd like to put that little guy in here to take home with me. I'll be keeping him," she stated proudly. She could hear a soft hum of approval, sensing sparks of delight dancing in her periphery.

Just as they were about to finalize the purchase, a shelf full of colorful cards behind the register caught the girl's gaze. She noticed her spectator's sight flicker to a specific stack as well, falling hopefully upon the red representative. The flash of fire gave the girl an idea. Smiling sheepishly, Jess quickly began to tally her (tiny) remaining total, which caused the cashier's brow to furrow again in consternation, before an exasperated sigh escaped. Suppressing a roll of the eyes, the sales clerk patiently paused the process of ringing the annoying customer up, reaching overshoulder to presumably grab a copy of each shade.

"Ah, I'll just take one, don't worry. A Heat Card, if you don't mind. This'll be the last thing for now, I promise." In fact, she realized she couldn't actually afford any more, as evidenced by the embarrassing emptiness of her coffer. Such a paltry sum remained in her palm, compared to what she had weeks before. The salesperson smirked before setting the rest back on the shelf, head shaking. So much for charity. Still, Jessica felt satisfied having done a good deed, so surely a small treat wouldn't hurt. Yes, she did deserve a single selfish request, and her new friend (whom she decided to dub "Waffle") would definitely be happy to have a special housewarming present to welcome him to her team, as well as set him apart from his siblings - at least until their other owners caught up.

-

Purchasing 6x Rotom (Genderless) for 1,500,000x Coins. Putting five of them in 5x Poké Balls (6-10 of 10). Putting the last one in 1x Gingerbread Ball. Also purchasing 1x Heat (Oven) Card for 20,000x Coins to be attached to final Rotom upon confirmation, for a grand total of 1,520,000x Coins.

Jessica excitedly entered the Coins for Prizes shop once more and headed straight to the back, much to the storekeeper's chagrin. Glancing around, she eventually spotted a small cage hidden in the shadows, within which she heard some growling, followed by silence. Gulping, she approached with slightly more hesitation and peered through the bars to see a swirling vortex staring back at her. (Was that blood on the walls behind it?) She stood there for a long time, like a trance, feeling as if any moment she could be sucked in...

Shaking her head, she broke the spell and backed up slowly, before turning and making a break for the front desk. Once again she surprised the sales clerk as she slammed her blue purse down on at the register, this time panting heavily.

"I-I'd like to buy that Spiritomb please, as a BirthdayGettingBetterEarlyChristmasPresent for a friend," she mumbled in one breath as she emptied the entire pouch's contents onto the counter. Catching the cashier's eye, she smiled smugly. "Don't worry, I counted beforehand. They should all be there." She didn't mention just how she'd managed to scrape up enough cash to make such a large purchase after nearly cleaning herself out last time. "Oh, and here's a special Ball to wrap- er, put it in."

The teller sighed and took the festive sphere to the pen, telling the girl to wait. Jessica couldn’t see exactly what was happening within, but she heard a bloodcurdling scream. Upon return, the person seemed to be limping somewhat. Jessica hurriedly asked if there was anything she could do to help, but she merely got a wave in response. Straightening properly, the seller resumed standing at prior position and began to ring her up, then suddenly stopped and surveyed the girl closely. “Say, weren’t you in here two days ago? Trying to buy the same Spiritomb?”

Jessica sweatdropped. "Ah, um, no. Y-You must be mistaken."

An eyebrow raised. "Are you sure? I could’ve sworn-"

"Thankyouverymuchbye!" Jess hastily swiped her goods and ran out of the store before another word could be said.